Rowan Sullivan, Author at FilmRoot

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A Simple Life

A Simple Life Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

A Simple Life may just restore or justify your faith in humanity. If you like character study films, than this one is for you. A beautiful study of two reserved people that express their love in their own way. Another reason to watch this film is for a unique view of Hong Kong society. We witness the passing of New Year and Autumn festivals, dodgy retirement home politics, and how to cook the best Cantonese food.

Why Watch A Simple Life?

Learn how to properly cook rice and a few other Cantonese dishes!
Get a better understanding of Hong Kong society
For a great acting performances from Deanie Ip and Andy Lau
A truly humanistic portrait of two people that you will grow to love

The Breakdown

This film is based on a true story, of a Chinese girl (Ah Tao) orphaned because of the Japanese occupation. We see Ah Tao as an old woman, having spent her life serving one family. Only one man is still living in China, Roger. We meet him sitting in an empty train station in remote China waiting for a train to take him back home. We first see Ah Tao wandering into a grocer’s refrigeration room to pick out some food.

Roger arrives home and we instantly understand his relationship with Ah Tao. He hardly acknowledges her as she places food in front of him. He even leans back and crosses his legs when she puts a plate in front of him, as if he is a high class businessman and she is a waitress. Next, we see her washing and hanging up his clothes. She even cooks Ox tongue for him (his favourite food) despite telling him it is bad for his health. She is like a mum that can’t accept that her son has grown up, whilst he is too spoilt to lose the benefits.

Their relationship only starts to develop after Ah Tao suffers a stroke in the opening minutes and requests to be put in a retirement home. His search for a retirement home is a quick insight into the retirement home business and Hong Kong society. The manager, a friend of Roger, admits that owning Retirement homes is a great business because Hong Kong has an ageing population that has access to social security payments. Also during Ah Tao’s stay in the home, we witness men begging for prostitute money, visitors that take away their gifts, and New Year celebrations. It becomes a microcosm through which we see Hong Kong society.

Conclusion

A Simple Life is a heart warming film. It centres around the relationship between an old maidservant and one of the ‘sons’ that she helped raise. Both are very sincere and reserved but still express their love for each other in ways that will make you feel happy. It will make you want to go pay a visit to your (probably) neglected older relatives.

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A Man Escaped

A Man Escaped Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

Yes, this is an old black and white film and it is subtitled. But do you really think that these two things are only equal slow moving romances? If you do, you’re mistaken because A Man Apart will hold your attention until the very end. With no boring or unnecessary scenes, A Man Apart is everything an escape film should be about: the escape! Escape or die!

Why Watch A Man Escaped?

You liked The Great Escape or Escape from Alcatraz and want to see the original escape film!
Learn what it is like to be trapped in a prison cell
Learn how to escape from a prison cell
If you don’t believe me, check Rotten Tomatoes, Imdb, or wherever you get your film reviews!

The Breakdown

The Montluc Nazi prison camp in France is where 7,000 out of 10,000 prisoners died during the last few years of the Second World War. We are introduced to Fontaine’s hands and knees stuffed into the back of a small car. His hand reaches for the door handle, then quickly retracts his hand to the side of his body. He is calculating an escape from the Nazi car. His hand reaches out, and returns to his side as a car passes in the opposite direction. Does he make a break for it or die at the hands of the Nazis?

Usually there’s a lot to write about each of the foreign films I watch. However, the beauty of this film is it’s simplicity. Bresson (the director) only includes that which is necessary to the film. There are no special effects, there is no fancy camera shots, the editing is simple, and dialogue is kept to short bursts. Nothing else needs to be there. I’d recommend aspiring directors to watch A Man Escaped to understand the importance of every scene.

The decisive film-making matches the character of Fontaine. He always figuring a way to escape in a escape or die scenario. We never see him sitting on his bed getting over emotional or hopeless. Unlike other films, this one is all about the action, and Bresson doesn’t allow any emotions to disrupt the flow of the film or the moments of tension. It is for this reason that Bresson made a point of hiring non-actors. He did not want any ‘acting’ or style, just someone playing his part.

Conclusion

A Man Escaped is both a thrilling escape film as well as a lesson in film-making. Every scene is vital to the film, therefore there are no irrelevant scenes that distract or bore the viewer. You will be glued to the screen until the very end. Also, because of the detail Bresson pays to the prison cell and daily routine, it will feel like you’ve been imprisoned with Fontaine the whole time.

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Edvard Munch

Edvard Munch Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Unless you’re an art fan, you might be reading the title and thinking, “why would I want to watch a film about an old artist?” Well this isn’t just a film about an old artist. This is a film about an innovator, someone going against the zeitgeist (the ideas and beliefs of the time). Along the way you can learn about Norwegian society, conservatism in Europe, sexism, and of course art!

Why Watch Edvard Munch?

You like really good biographical films that are re-enacted perfectly
Ingmar Bergman, the King of Swedish directing said this film was a ‘work of genius’
Find out what it is like to be an innovator – complete with depression, rejection, and more…
You’re an art or history student

The Breakdown

Edvard Munch opens with a woman whispering into Munch’s ear, “you can meet me after dinner.” We later learn that the seductive woman is the elusive Miss Heiberg. However, instead of scenes of Munch with this woman, the director cuts to poor people dying of consumption in 19th Century Kristiana (the old name for Oslo). We find out that consumption is widespread in the city and that the poor work 11 hours a day.

The director (Peter Watkins) then juxtaposes the horrific life of the poor in Norway with the middle class. The middle class rules Norwegian society and are strongly conservative and protestant and seem to have a lot of free time. Munch is from the middle class, so understanding the lower classes sets a framework for us to judge him and his peers from.

The style of this docudrama is what makes it great. It compares to the great cinema verite classics like Battle of Algiers and District 9. Firstly, there are interviews with some of the minor characters, snippets from art critics that lambasted Munch, and a narrator. This matches the usual layout for the documentary genre. Secondly, Munch looks at the camera all the time, making it seem that he knows that he is being filmed for a documentary, which makes it feel more real. Lastly, everything looks as if the film was filmed in the late 1800s. The costumes are great, the buildings fit, and the actors play everything perfectly. You could be forgiven for thinking that this was a real documentary.

The film also amazingly depicts the process of creating a piece of art. Watkins reveals Munch’s emotions whilst he paints and scratches the canvas through montages of old and new memories. As a result, we can see what Munch is trying to express with his painting, allowing us to understand him, unlike his shallow critics.

Conclusion

Edvard Munch is a great film. I love a good docudrama (Battle of Algiers and District 9 are two of my favourite films) and this is no exception. In addition, Edvard Munch takes us into the world of an artist. We see the creative process right from it’s original inspirations. Munch’s paintings are bleak and violent, and Watkins reveals why. This is where you learn about late 19th century Norwegian society and how it rubs off on an innovative artist.

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This is Not a Film – Film-Making Under House Arrest

This is Not a Film Film Difficulty Ranking: 4

Panahi is an inspiration for the film industry. He made This is Not a Film whilst under government orders not to make a film (after being charged with making propaganda against the Iranian government). Luckily, Panahi cannot simply stop making films, it’s part of his nature. Also, luckily, someone smuggled this gem out of Iran on a flash drive hidden inside a cake. So consider yourself lucky that you can watch this film!

From: Iran, Asia
Watch: Trailer, Buy on Amazon, Kanopy
Next: Taxi Tehran, Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania, Lost in La Mancha

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Melancholia

Melancholia Film Difficulty Ranking: 5

As one of the longest cinematic films in existence, watching Melancholia is no easy feat. It is twice as long as Gone With the Wind or over twice as long as Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. In addition, this film feels long. There are plenty of scenes where we are watching one person in one position for five minutes or more. But you’ll miss out on a Filipino film talent if you ignore this one, and a chance to get to know the country without the long-haul flight!

Why Watch Melancholia?

You haven’t seen a 7 hour film before and fancy a challenge (14th on the longest cinematic film list on Wikipedia)
To understand the effect of the Marcos dictatorship on Filipino people – there were many desparacidos like in Argentina!
An opportunity to see different segments of Filipino society
With no music, hear the true sounds of the Philippines

The Breakdown

The film starts with a still shot of a woman in a bedroom folding clothes. After she folds her clothes and places them onto her bed, she pauses for a few minutes to contemplate. It sounds like she is sobbing as she sits on the bed, with her back to the camera. Next a fixed shot on a balcony shows her leave her room dressed up in skimpy clothes and big boots. She is a new prostitute in a small Filipino town in the country.

There is a lot you can say about this film because it is so long. However, there are a few things which remain constant throughout the film. Firstly, the pairing of fixed cameras and long takes (each around five minutes long) forms most of this film. These shots make us feel like a fly on the wall for the whole film. Unlike a Hollywood blockbuster, everything appears in real time. We see the banal acts of folding clothes, sitting down contemplating, and even sleeping. As a result, things seem more real, it is almost like we are spying on someone we don’t know.

Also unlike Hollywood blockbusters, there are no intrusive close-ups in the entire film. We cannot see the character’s faces clearly, making it harder for us to interpret their emotions. It’s hard to describe so I’ll try and distinguish it from the emotion triggered by close-ups of crying faces. Close-ups of crying faces makes the viewer sad and sometimes cry. It is also very obvious and open, creating an emotional bond between the character and the viewer. In contrast the distanced shots of people sobbing in Melancholia is partly concealed. As we cannot see their faces clearly we feel distanced and slightly intrusive. As a result, it does not feel like we can help the character’s share their emotional burdens. Their sadness is inevitable and unavoidable: Melancholia.

Conclusion

If you can afford seven and a half hours and have any interest in the Philippines, I’d recommend checking out Melancholia. It’s an intense dive into the psyche of the Marcos ruled Philippines. If you are daunted by the length but are interested in Filipino film, check out some other films from Lav Diaz (the director) such as Norte, the End of History. He is a talent!